Marietta Wealth Management LLC Has $2.76 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,804 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Sippican Capital Advisors bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $229,000. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 15,171 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $4,569,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,199,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DRI. StockNews.com lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $154.61. The stock had a trading volume of 408,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,089. The stock has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.